Paper Thin

• 58: Microscope •

Melody

""Tag! You're it!" Peyton exclaimed as her fingertips brushed my arm. I stopped running and burst into laughter.

"Not again!" I yelled as she took off running once again. I grinned at my best friend, trying to pretend that this wasn't our last game of tag. She was moving to another state. Her dad got a new job all the way in Chicago. "Gotchya! You're it!"

"Girls! Melody's mom is here to pick her up!" Peyton's dad called.

"Awwh!" We both sighed from her backyard.

"Wait, before you go!" Peyton said. She stuck her hand in her pocket and pulled out a little bracelet, made of string. "I made it myself."

"I won't forget you."

"I'll call every day!"

She didn't, and eventually, I stopped too. I guess the first grade got busy and new friends came into the picture. That was okay; I didn't need friends. Peyton was my last good friend until now. I had a group that I could hang out with.

Hey, can we meet up tomorrow before school?

Grab Noah and Cora as well?

Melody Reese, 8:43pm

Field trip tomorrow. Can't.

Alani Reynolds; 10:32pm

Yeah, same.

Emma Murphy; 10:33pm

I had a group that I could hang with. That was okay; I didn't need friends.

***

I walked into the school; eyes glued to the floor. I could hear it, the whispers. I could feel it, the stares. I knew the student body buzzed with the excitement of new gossip and I was incredibly uncomfortable that the subject was me. Though Carson was by my side, from the car ride this morning to our seats in English, I felt alone under a microscope. I felt like a goldfish in a glass with people looking in from the outside.

I slid into my seat and stared down at the table, waiting for class to start. Carson, who sat next to me, squeezed my hand.

"Okay, class, get into groups! We're going to continue discussing some more themes in The Catcher in the Rye," Mr. Garcia said leaning on the chalkboard. "I'll hand out a theme to each group and we'll all talk about it afterward."

Lily and Jeff turned around and faced us, as I got out my notebook to write on. Mr. Garcia placed a small piece of paper down on my desk and Lily picked it up.

"Our theme is, lies and deceit."

"How fitting," someone mumbled across the room.

Carson turned to glare at them, but I didn't even look. I didn't care. I was just trying to get through the day.

***

I went straight to the art room at lunch, not wanting to experience another horrible forty-five minutes in the cafeteria. I slid into my chair and mumbled a quiet 'hello' to Ms. Foster as I did.

"You didn't come in yesterday," she started. Her ringlets were in a high ponytail and she sported a long-sleeved grey dress. Ms. Foster sat at her desk, an elbow resting on the wooden surface, a pen held in her hand.

"Yeah, appointment." It came out quickly, a forced reaction.

Ms. Foster sat quietly for a moment, staring at me as I broke eye contact and started getting my sketchbook out. "I try not to, but I do hear students talk a–"

"Can we not? Th-this is the only place where–" I swallowed hard. "I'm fine." She let out a small sigh but didn't press the topic any further.

"We just did some art history yesterday; I'll give you the hand-outs if you want to get caught up before class starts."

"Sure, thank you."

As she began grabbing the sheets of paper, the door opened and in walked Carson. He smiled and closed the door behind him, before walking over to me and sitting down.

"Sorry I'm late; my bio test ran longer than I thought," he said.

"It's okay. How did it go?" I asked.

"Good... I think. Mrs. Butler has tricky multiple-choice questions, so only time – and the Scantron – will tell," Carson laughed, bringing a small smile to my face. Ms. Foster brought me the sheets and headed back to her desk. Carson pulled out his lunch, as I began going over my missed classwork. He pushed the container towards me, a silent offer, and my fingers found the carrot sticks as I read over my worksheets.

***

The classroom felt odd without Emma there. There was no one to talk to – or pretend to talk to – so I couldn't easily avoid the people at my table. I kept my eyes on the table, as Ms. Foster went through the remaining art history. When she was done, she wanted us to draw a winter scene on the pages she handed out. As everyone began drawing, she put on soft indie music and sat at her desk.

"So, you're like a model?" Ben asked quietly.

"Not like a model, Ben. She is a model. Right?" Julia snapped.

"Um, yeah I guess." I mumbled, not looking up from the page.

"That's pretty hot," Diesel said, the smirk in his voice evident.

"Ugh, don't be gross," Alice replied under her breath.

"What can I say? If you're a model, that means you're like extra hotter than other girls..." Diesel defended.

"That's what she can tell herself, but Macy's hardly counts for anything," Jennette said from her table.

"That's true," Julia chuckled. "You can stop drooling Ben."

"I wasn't drooling! God, Julia why are you always like this?"

They began bickering, which seemed to dwindle the conversation. It sucked for them, but I was perfectly content with sitting here and letting my pencil glide across the page without further interruptions.

____________________

Author's Note:  This took a little while, but I hope you liked this chapter! Thank you for reading and leaving awesome comments! I can't believe we're at 18.4K reads! You're all the best! Special shout outs to: MShareef04 , Edroidnds , and LindsayLovesReading for your awesome comments! And to NFMirza786 , MissSugarBloom , and _xxalyxx_ for voting like crazy!

Tell me, do you think Melody's friends will give her a chance to explain? If so, what do you think they'll say?